Corvette Wins Sebring

A tenacious victory for the C6R with supurb driving and pitwork

Corvette’s recent win at the 61st running of the 12 Hours of Sebring was one that still has Corvette fans buzzing. The team’s performance in the pits and on the track reflects the core values of this Corvette Racing team. The team knew they would have their hands full in the season-opening American Le Man Series race (ALMS). The new Viper and BMW Z4 were making its debut at this classic race. In addition, the Risi Competition team was returning to ALMS after a one-year absence and were poised to be a big threat to Corvette. Twelve cars were entered in the GT category at Sebring and the following manufacturers were represented: Corvette, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Viper, BMW, and Porsche. The GT qualifying battle boiled down to three cars: the #4 Corvette driven by Oliver Gavin, Richard Westbrook, and Tommy Milner; the #62 Ferrari 458 driven by Gianmaria Bruni, Olivier Beretta, and Matteo Malucelli; and the #97 Aston Martin driven by Darren Turner, Stefan Mucke, and Bruno Senna. All three cars qualified below 1:59 with Gianmaria Bruni setting the fastest time at 1:58.815. Oliver Gavin was a tick behind at 1:58.934. Darren Turner turned a 1:58.990 to take the third qualifying position. The #3 Corvette driven by Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia, and Jordan Taylor was fifth with a time of 1:59.348. A total of forty-two entries qualified for the last Sebring race sanctioned by ALMS. In September of 2012 a merger between Grand Am and ALMS was announced at Road Atlanta. The new series name was unveiled at a Sebring press conference. It is named the United Sportscar Racing Series and the first race will be the 2014 24 Hours of Daytona.

In many ways the two Sebring Corvettes were only changed in subtle ways. Development dollars are being transferred to the new C7R that will appear at the Daytona 24 hour race. However, one interesting safety feature that was added to the rear of the cars is a radar detection system. ALMS combines multiple classes of racing cars from blinding fast, like the Audi prototype, to the very slow Porsche GT3 cup cars. The Corvettes are slower than the prototypes classed above them, and faster than the GT3 Porsches below them. The overtaking speeds of a top prototype approaching a Corvette are enormous. The radar detects a car approaching around 300 to 400 feet behind the car. It provides an audible warning and video inside the Corvette cockpit. It is an innovative system that seemed to work well during the race.

Race day weather was dry, cool, clear, and perfect for racing. A large crowd was on hand and filled the starting grid before the race. The Corvette Grand Sport pace car led the field on one warm-up lap and the green flag fell at 10:45. Gavin immediately pushed his #4 Corvette into the lead and began pulling away from the GT field. Twelve minutes into the race, Antonio Garcia turned this car’s fastest lap in the race at a 2:00.525. Unfortunately Antonio hit the #05 Prototype Challenge entry and was assessed a 60-second penalty for unavoidable contact. The #3 problems were not finished, forty-six minutes into the race the Corvette went behind the wall for transmission repairs. The stop lasted for twenty-five minutes. Garcia immediately came back in to the pits with the car stuck in gear. This was resolved and he returned to the race well down in the order. This Corvette continued this pattern of issues until it was finally retired from the race at 7:41 with a broken gearbox.

Meanwhile the #4 Corvette was at the top of the class and stretching its lead. Without warning, Westbrook reported that the dash stopped working. Richard dove into the pits for repairs and the crew was able to change the faulty unit in less than one minute. Gavin took over and continued, but had to return to the pits because Westbrook was speeding when he entered to fix the faulty dash. With no dash or pit limiter, Richard was unable to determine his speed and was hit with the penalty. This dropped them from 10th overall and 1st in GT to 23rd overall and 9th in GT! In addition, they were almost two laps behind the GT leader. Things were not looking good for the vaunted Corvette team. However, this is where the team’s tenacity showed its hand. Both the crew and the drivers knew they had a fast racecar. They felt that they could still get a podium with quick stops and pushing the Corvette to its limits while it was on the track. It started to work, by 4:31 with the help of yellow flags and quick stops, the Corvette was up to 16th overall and 6th in GT. Milner was in the car and pitted to turn the #4 over to Westbrook. By 5:40 (6 hrs and 55 minutes) Westbrook burst into the GT lead with 192 laps in the books. Suddenly, Westbrook was called into the pits for a 60-second penalty for unavoidable contact. Again the charge was on to catch the leading Ferrari. At 7:50 Milner was 38 seconds behind and by 10 p.m. it was a gap of 9.537 seconds. Finally at 10:30, after the Ferrari went off course trying to push too hard, Milner took the lead and the checkered flag.

An amazing celebration took place in victory circle that included the drivers, crew, and key Chevrolet executives. Each driver, received a beautiful Rolex watch to commemorate their class victory. This was Corvette Racing’s first Sebring class victory since 2009. It was a perfect way to celebrate Corvette's 60th Anniversary and pay tribute to their first Sebring class victory in 1956. Corvette fans are very fortunate to have a team with this never-quit, tenacious spirit. We know they will apply this energy for the remainder of the last ALMS season and to the new C7R.

Each year the Sebring Corvette Corral continues to grow in popularity with Corvette owners and fans. The corral is the perfect place to park your Corvette in a protected area during Sebring’s race weekend. It is also a great place to meet passionate Corvette owners and key executives involved with building and marketing the Corvette. The four-day advance ticket price to gain access was $275 this year. This included admission tickets for two people, parking, corral access, and lunch on Saturday. The corral is hosted and staffed by Chevrolet Communications. They provided excellent materials and posters to hand out to people who were attending. A large tent with tables and chairs was a great place to get out of the Florida sun. Closed circuit televisions provided live race coverage and plenty of snacks and cold drinks were available all day. Two large grandstands located on the track's bumpy Turn 17 was a great place to get a close view of the factory Corvettes in action.

The big excitement this year was the unveiling of the new C7 Corvette Stingray on Friday. This is the same car that was displayed at the Detroit and Amelia Island auto shows. Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter and Harlan Charles, Corvette Product Marketing Manager, were present to answer questions about the new Stingray. The reaction from owners was very positive and the most frequent question was: “how much will it cost?” Unfortunately, pricing had not been finalized at that time, but thankfully it turned out to be not too far off from the C6 pricing.

Jim Campbell, US Vice-President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, attended and enjoyed interacting with Corvette owners. Retired Bowling Green Plant Manager Wil Cooksey and his wife Liz were present and enjoyed meeting with their many Corvette friends. Wil and his team really brought quality into the Corvette assembly process that set the benchmark for building today’s Corvettes. Dave Tatman, the current Bowling Green Plant manager, gave an update on how they are progressing with changing over the assembly line to start C7 production. Dave reports they are on schedule and production will begin early fall.

Corvette Racing’s Doug Fehan gave an update on the 2013 season and his thoughts on the 2014 merger with ALMS and Grand Am. Doug was very positive about the change, and the Corvette Racing crew has begun work on the new C7R. Testing will begin after the team returns from this year's Le Mans race. An auction was held to support the ALMS ministries, and owners kindly responded to this worthwhile service with their donations. At 4 p.m. on Friday all six Corvette drivers came to the corral to sign posters and memorabilia that fans brought to the event. The drivers were very accessible and seemed to enjoy the interaction with their fans.

The parking lot was full of every generation of Corvette from C1 to C6 on Saturday. It was a great opportunity for a Corvette fan to peek under hoods and talk with owners about their rides. It is also fun to look at how many owners have added their personal touches to their Corvettes. You might get some ideas on what you might want to add to your Corvette. The Sebring race weekend could not have ended on a higher note when the #4 Corvette passed the leading Ferrari in the waning moments of the race to take a well-deserved GT victory. It was a very exciting Corvette moment.

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Corvette Wins Sebring

By 10 p.m. Milner had whittled the Ferrari’s lead down to 9.537 seconds, and was gaining 2 seconds a lap with forty-five minutes remaining in the race.

Corvette Racing is a stickler for details. Each time its cars return from a session on the track they are carefully inspected and adjusted. Any suspect part the crew finds is changed. The big news for 2013 is the addition of a radar unit in the rear that warns the driver of any fast approaching traffic.

Oliver Gavin qualified the #4 Corvette second in GT and started 21st on the Sebring grid in a field of 42 entries. Gavin turned a 1:58.934 compared to the pole-winning Risi Ferrari’s time of 1:58.815. How is that for close!

Chevrolet provided Sebring with this beautiful 2013 Torch Red Grand Sport coupe to serve as pace car and starter for the 61st running of the 12 Hour race. The Corvette got plenty of track time as numerous yellows were displayed during the race.

Early in the race the #62 Ferrari was the only GT car that was able to stay in touch with the rocket-fast Corvette. It turned out that the Corvette’s extra speed would come in handy later in the race.

At 1:37 an unexpected dash/instrument failure brought Westbrook storming into the pits. Incredible pit work got the dash replaced in less than a minute. Gavin replaced Westbrook and returned to the race.

The Cyber Gray C7 Corvette was moved from the Corvette Corral on Saturday to the Chevrolet exhibit area at Sebring. The crowds milled around the new car during the day and gave their verbal approval on the new design.

The dash failure and pit stop penalty dropped the #4 Corvette from first in class down to ninth in GT. The C6R was almost two laps behind the leading GT cars. The crew serviced the car in record time, and the drivers were lapping near their qualifying time. The drivers were able to pick off their competitors, like this Aston Martin, one by one.

Richard Westbrook was able to pass the first place Viper and retake the GT lead after 192 laps of racing! However, shortly after taking the lead, Westbrook was called into the pits for a 60-second stop for having avoidable contact with another competitor.

The new Viper built by Riley Technologies is showing great speed with its massive V-10 engine. In spite of aggressive inlet restrictors, the Viper still produces gobs of torque. This helps it exit all of the corners very quickly. This car should be very fast at Le Mans this year.

The #3 Corvette was beset with a host of problems during the race, and made several visits behind the pit wall for repairs. It was retired from the race at 7:41 p.m. with gearbox failure.

After the #4 served its 60-second penalty it fell behind the leaders. In order to make up that lost time, the Corvette was once again pushed to its limits. Here the Corvette is sweeping by a Prototype Challenge during the night.

By 10 p.m. Milner had whittled the Ferrari’s lead down to 9.537 seconds, and was gaining 2 seconds a lap with forty-five minutes remaining in the race.

By 10:30 the rear of the Ferrari was lit up with the Corvette headlights, and shortly after this photo was taken the Corvette took the lead with fifteen minutes remaining in the race. It was an amazing comeback.

At 10:43 p.m. the #4 swept across the finish line and took the checkered flag for the final ALMS race at Sebring International Raceway. It was an amazing come-from-behind victory.

Jim Campbell, US Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, congratulates Corvette Racing’s Gary Pratt for his team’s amazing GT victory at Sebring. Jim is a passionate supporter of GM motorsports activities, which is good news for Corvette racing enthusiasts.

Oliver Gavin, Richard Westbrook, and Tommy Milner display their Rolex watches that were given to class winners at Sebring. Marcel Fassler (left) was one of the overall winning drivers in an Audi prototype. Marcel drove a Phoenix Racing C6R Corvette in 2008 in Europe, and is very familiar with our American Thundercars.

The #3 Corvette streaks by the corral. The Corvette Corral is located at the exit of Sebring’s Turn 17 that leads onto the pit straight. The corral provides fans ample grandstands to watch all of the action. The new C7 was displayed inside the white tent.

Corral guests packed the large parking area with their Corvettes throughout the weekend. Fans began arriving on Thursday, and by Saturday the parking area was full. It was an amazing sight.

This is the view that Corvette fans have when they sit in the Corvette Corral grandstands. The view includes all of Turn 17, the entrance to the pits, and the pit straightaway.

The 2014 Corvette C7 chassis #00003EX was displayed inside the corral tent on Friday before the race. It was an exclusive showing of the new car to the many Corvette fans that attended the race. The reaction was over the top, including the taillights!

Corvette Racing’s Doug “Doc” Fehan spread his word to those that were assembled. His presentations are always well received, and you can see by all of the smiling faces in the crowd that this talk was no exception. Doug was careful to not divulge any secrets about the new C7R racecar.

Jake Drennon, Director of the C5/C6 Corvette Registry, gets a poster signed by Richard “Hollywood” Westbrook. Tyler Thurn, Media Director for the Corvette Motorsport website, is seen chatting with driver Oliver Gavin.

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